Here on Cup of Dog, we have made previous mention of the addition of tripe to a raw diet, discussed its many benefits and praised it for its healthy range of nutrients.

While perusing in our favorite dog store, we came across something new. Louis’ eyes perked up, Ella’s nub of a tail began to wag. A new, fresh canned tripe! At least, new to us. We have used frozen tripe, freeze dried tripe, but never before have the dogs had the opportunity to feast on fresh, stinky tripe.

I looked at the dogs and back at the cool looking can. Ingredients: Beef tripe, water, garlic, vegetable gum. Nothing too flashy…it was worth a try! The only heat this product encountered is during the canning process, so its as close to raw tripe as the dogs have had.

Upon opening the can, the most foul smelling odor I have ever encountered met my nostrils. My 12 pound Louis leaped on me he as if he was poked by an electric rod. Ella followed, jumping toward it as high as possible (she reached mid-calf). Good thing I taught the dogs to ’sit’ while meals are prepared!

“SIT!” I commanded them. Both doggie tushes plopped to the ground, eyes locked on the can.

I carefully added it to their dishes, while trying to breathe through my mouth. Tripe is basically ground cow stomach. The green color is from the partially digested grasses and plants in the cows stomach. It is rubbery and absolutely disgusting.

The dogs were ecstatic. The rubbery, natural tripe texture slowed down Louis and Ella Bean’s normally frenetic eating pace and both dogs chewed happily, eyeing each others bowls. As I scrubbed the stainless steel bowls, après-dinner, I started to give some more thought as to why I should continue to assault my nose for the benefit of my beloved dogs.

It is actually instinctive for dogs to eat nutrient rich green tripe. No wonder I got such an explosive reaction! I ignited their doggie instincts. When ingesting tripe, the nutrients in grasses, grains, naturally occurring gastric juices, amino acids and other digestive enzymes that have already been processed by the cow’s stomach are easily absorbed by the dogs. The gastric juices and enzymes are excellent for dogs; the amino acids aid muscular development and gastric juices keep teeth clean and healthy. While they digest, those juices and enzymes assist the dog to pull the maximum amount of nutritional benefits from their diet.

So, it is worth it, though my husband will never feed them the stinky food, so its left to me. I checked out food’s website, which proved as cool as the packaging. Tripett, the new food, was a success. As the website lists, benefits of tripe include:

• Improved appetite and digestion
• Cleaner teeth
• Dry and itchy skin problems improved or eliminated
• Coats with richer color, shine and lower susceptibility to fleas
• Calmer temperaments
• Decreased waste in feces

Being that these are all great benefits, I suppose we have a new supplement to incorporate into the fur kid’s diet. Remember, Tripett is not a canned food to replace a portion of a current feeding program. It is a supplement to a balanced diet. Additionally, if your dog happens to be one of the many with beef allergies, there are formulas by the same brand made from lamb tripe and a duck tripe/ salmon mixture.

What a fantastic find for city dwellers, like us, who don’t have a proper butcher from whom to get fresh, unbleached tripe! Don’t be alarmed by the pure nastiness of this product. This is the real deal, so there may be clumpy pieces of white fat, ingested hair and a range in color and texture that may vary by can.

Gives a renewed meaning to a BARF* diet, huh?

*BARF - Biologically Appropriate Raw Food or Bones And Raw Food diet

For more information or to purchase, please visit www.tripett.com

Tripette image via www.tripett.com, cow image via www.primidi.com

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